Glaciers, Gold, & Good Times In The Capital Of The Last Frontier

Every time I go to Juneau, I have a good time. It's my favorite place in Alaska--perhaps in the world. Why? Because this city of 30,000 has a little bit of everything that Alaska has to offer.

Looking for glaciers? There's one just 13 miles from downtown. Whales? Daily whale-watching trips leave from the waterfront. Cultural heritage? There are totem poles and a Russian Orthodox church. Pioneer history? The city's mining past is on display in two fine museums. How about natural history? Juneau has the state's best system of hiking trails.

As the capital of Alaska, Juneau is not just the political center of the state, but its cruise hub as well, welcoming more than 600,000 cruise passengers each summer. Lloyd's List has ranked it in the world's top 20 cruise ports according to arrivals, and a survey in the Los Angeles Times once placed Juneau in the top five ports for its combination of shopping and scenery--the only U.S. port that made the cut. (Just for the record, there are more than 1,800 cruise ports, according to Cruise Lines International Association.)

Cruise passengers will have a hard time deciding between the many shore excursions offered in Juneau. Classic favorites include the Gold Creek Salmon Bake (about $30), helicopter flight-seeing ($180), or the Gastineau Salmon Hatchery and city tour ($35). If you've never been to Juneau before, the city tour is definitely in order. It takes in all the main attractions, from the mighty Mendenhall Glacier to historic South Franklin Street.

Juneau is also a good place to book a sportfishing charter ($160); all the cruise lines offer this "shore excursion." If you don't mind cheating, though, you can fish right from the dock beside the salmon hatchery. Other active options include kayaking along the waterfront ($85), river-rafting in the shadow of the Mendenhall Glacier ($100), hiking through the rain forest ($60), or a bike-and-brew tour ($65) that visits the award-winning Alaskan Brewing & Bottling Company, located just outside downtown. (You bike before visiting the brewery and ride back to the ship in a van.)

At more than 3,000 square miles (including the Gastineau Channel and the 1,500-square-mile Juneau Icefield), Juneau is said to be the largest city by area in the United States. But downtown is a cozy few square blocks, easily walkable for independent passengers. The Juneau Convention & Visitors Bureau publishes a free walking-tour brochure covering the major sites of interest, all clustered together in a square mile. Maps are available as you debark the ship at the information kiosks right on the dock. Copies also are available at the Davis Log Cabin, a visitors center located in the heart of downtown at the corner of Seward and Third streets.

Up to four ships at a time may visit Juneau on any given day. Three can tie up pierside--two at the City Docks, and another at the Princess pier, which is also used by other lines. A fourth ship may drop anchor in the harbor. Depending on where you come ashore (the Princess pier is the farthest away), it's just a short walk or bus ride to South Franklin Street, the main tourism district and one of the best shopping areas in all of Alaska.

Here, along the main thoroughfare and side streets, you'll find everything Alaskan, from cute and furry faux creatures (like iceworms) to handmade native crafts and expensive fine art. To ensure authenticity, look for the polar bear symbol for goods made in Alaska and the Silver Hand label for genuine native crafts.

Shops in Juneau run the gamut from famous chains to local mom-and-pop operations. Veteran passengers will recognize names like Little Switzerland and Colombian Emeralds from the Caribbean. Both are on South Franklin Street proper. Other stores are more homespun, like Rainy Day Books, which specializes in rare and sometimes used (i.e. cheap) Alaska titles--great reading for days at sea (of which there are two or three on every weeklong Alaska cruise itinerary).

The best-kept shopping secret in Juneau is the gift shop at the City Museum, where you can buy authentic and affordable artifacts from Alaska's past. Items for sale include original fish-can labels (25 [cts.]), pottery used in the Juneau mines (50 [cts.] to $2), and pieces of ore taken from the mines ($3). Museum galleries focus on the men and machines of Alaska's mining industry, which for half a century was the foundation of the local economy.

Not far from the City Museum is the impressive Alaska State Museum. Exhibits include a re-creation of the Southeast Alaskan rain forest and a walk-through timeline of Alaska's early history. Also on view is the original head from the famous Abe Lincoln totem pole (a replica now stands in Ketchikan at Saxman Native Village).

Passengers interested in pioneer history can explore further by visiting two original sites from Juneau's earliest days. The St. Nicholas Russian Orthodox Church, built in 1894, is the oldest original church in Southeast Alaska and a relic from the days of Czarist rule. The nearby House of Wickersham was the home of Judge James Wickersham, who established law and order in the newly American territory of Alaska, purchased for $7.2 million in 1867.

Continuing your crash-course in Alaskan history, the next stop in chronological order is the governor's mansion. Built in 1912, its muscular, colonnaded architecture is oddly formal, given the casual nature of Juneau. The 1974-built State Office Building has a fully restored pipe organ on the eighth floor and an outdoor patio terraced above the harbor.

Few Alaskan cities can match Juneau for scenic lookouts. The city is built up against a hillside, tucked between Mount Roberts and the Gastineau Channel. In fact, it's been called "The Little San Francisco of the North" for its steep and sometimes winding streets. The best view in town begins at the Mount Roberts Tram, a cable car that boards passengers right at the docks. At the top of the tram lie natural trails, a gift shop, a restaurant, and a theater--all perched 2,000 feet above the harbor.

A short trip beyond downtown yields a number of impressive mountain views, too. The Mendenhall Glacier is located just 10 minutes from the city center. It's known as one of Alaska's "drive-up glaciers," so-called because they are accessible by road. Views of the Mendenhall are featured on many Juneau shore excursions, including the standard city tour or the rafting tour that begins near the face of the glacier. For the truly adventurous, glacier heli-hiking will take you deep into the Juneau Icefield, source of the glacial flow.

But since the face of the glacier is only a short drive from the docks, you don't need to sign up for a ship-organized tour. Capital Cab (907-586-2772) will take you there and back for about $50. At the glacier, there's a visitors center run by the U.S. Forest Service. The glacier lies within the Tongass National Forest, which covers 85 percent of Southeast Alaska and is the largest temperate rain forest in North America. From the visitors center, you can walk right up to the glacier.

A little farther from downtown is the aptly named Glacier Gardens. With a typical touch of Alaskan whimsy, upside-down tree trunks are used as planters for wildflowers. Golf-cart-like vehicles take visitors on a ride through the rain forest, stopping along the way for an explanation of the local flora. The highlight of the ride is a stop at a scenic overlook for a panoramic view of the mountains and the Mendenhall Valley. Several cruise lines offer Glacier Gardens as a shore excursion, or you can visit independently; admission is $14.95 per person.

No cruise of Alaska would be complete without a stop in a Far North saloon. Fortunately, Juneau is famous for them. The Red Dog epitomizes the saloons of days gone by. The atmosphere is pure frontier--swinging doors, sawdust on the floor, and moose heads on the walls. A little more genteel is the lounge at the Alaskan Hotel--its bar evokes a Victorian-style ambiance circa 1913. Also close to the docks is the Hangar on Fisherman's Wharf. Its picture-windows face the water and the mountains, still covered in snow in summer. So you can have your beer and drink it with a view--of one of the most scenic ports in the world.

KNOW BEFORE YOU GO

Ships That Call: Juneau is a port-of-call on virtually every cruise of Alaska. Cruise lines that visit include Princess, Holland America, Carnival, Celebrity, Royal Caribbean, Norwegian, Crystal, Radisson Seven Seas, and World Explorer. Most small-ship cruises begin or end in Juneau, and offer the option of a pre- or post-cruise package in the city; lines include Cruise West, Alaska's Glacier Bay Tours & Cruises, American Safari Cruises, Clipper Cruise Line, and Lindblad Expeditions.